Benalmádena's green space maintenance mess after Supreme Court ruling

Disagreements in awarding criteria and a subsequent complaint to the High Court of Justice of Andalucía has led Spain's Supreme Court to annul the contract awarded in 2022 for the maintenance of Benalmádena's green spaces. The accusation, made by joint venture UTE, which has now been appointed to be in charge of the service, has brought instability to the town hall.

The contract concerns the maintenance of green and landscape areas in Benalmádena for the 2022-2026 period. It was awarded to a venture formed by FCC Medio Ambiente and FFC Equal, which was chosen among the 16 companies that submitted bids.

With the Supreme Court ruling in hand, Benalmádena town hall has proceeded to award the contract for the remaining time (one year) to the UTE venture formed by Integra Mantenimiento, Gestión y Servicios Integrados, Centro Especial de Empleo, SL and Talher, SA.

From June 2026, the UTE can only apply for the one-year extension established in the specifications, therefore losing three years of the contract. This opens the door for Integra and Talher to present a claim for patrimonial responsibility before the courts against the local administration of Benalmádena. For this reason, the town hall's legal services fear that the Supreme Court ruling could have "serious consequences" for the municipal coffers.

The award of the now annulled contract was decided by the casting vote of the then councillor for parks and gardens - Joaquín Villazón - after a tie between seven companies. Villazón's vote prevailed over those of the secretary of the contracting committee and the comptroller.

The criterion used to break the tie was to count the disabled workers in each company. The tender specifications did not contemplate how to make this calculation and Villazón's approach, which differed from that of the other two officials, determined who the award should go to. However, the High Court of Justice of Andalucía and the Supreme Court have now ruled in favour of the other members of the committee.